EWC Armenia 2024 National Winners announced

ArmInfo. The Entrepreneurship and Productive Innovation Center (EPIC) at the American University of  Armenia (AUA) as the National Organizer of the Entrepreneurship World Cup (EWC) in Armenia congratulates the three startups that became the EWC Armenia 2024 National Winners. These startups advance to the  global competition to represent Armenia.  

According to the press service of Team Telecom Armenia, since its  launch in 2019, EWC has evolved into one of the largest and most  diverse startup pitch competitions and support programs worldwide.  With over 370,000 entrepreneurs from more than 200 countries and  territories participating, EWC offers winners life-changing prizes,  including more than $1 million in cash prizes and in-kind prizes.  

EWC goes beyond mere competition. It provides hundreds of coaching  and training hours tailored to entrepreneurs at all stages of their  journey. The network fostered throughout the competition offers  invaluable guidance and support to propel companies toward their  growth objectives. EWC alumni, whether cash prize winners or members  of select cohorts, continue to make significant contributions to  their communities with innovative solutions to pressing challenges.  

As the national organizer in Armenia, EPIC has hosted three  successful editions of EWC, bringing together key players in the  Armenian startup ecosystem to make this nationwide event a thriving  reality while launching the best Armenian startups to the global  stage where they will receive international exposure and recognition.  

This year's EWC Armenia National Finals was an electrifying event,  truly a nationwide celebration of innovation and entrepreneurship.  The excitement was palpable as people from all corners of our  ecosystem gathered to witness a spirited competition between ten  leading Armenian startups to see which three teams would advance to  the EWC 2024 Global Finals. The engagement was extraordinary, with  productive networking sessions during breaks and while the jury  deliberated. Startups were approached by audience members, investors,  and entrepreneurs eager to explore their ideas further, showcasing  the dynamic interest and support within our community. The  participants themselves were brimming with excitement, motivated to  deliver their best pitches and thoughtfully answer the jury's   questions.  

By decision of the independent jury of the EWC Armenia 2024 National  Finals, from the 10 competing National Finalist startups, Archestr,  MAquaponics, and Nomiq were announced as national winners and will  join the EWC Top 250 startups selected from participants in the  Entrepreneurship World Cup (EWC) competition's global pool, who get  the chance to go through GEN's virtual boot camp designed to provide  selected startups with valuable skills, mentorship, and resources to  prepare them for the global finals 

According to EWC Armenia National Organizer Nejdeh Hovanessian, "Year  by year, we see how diverse and exciting the ideas become in the EWC  competition. If you check out the descriptions of the teams  participating, you can see that we have completely different  industries and very interesting teams, ranging from agri-tech to  construction startups. One trend that was well-predicted is the use  of AI technologies; most startups are utilizing that. It's inspiring  to see Armenia participate in EWC for the third time, and we are  immensely proud of the progress our ecosystem has made. Our winning  teams are a testament to the talent and potential within our  community, and we are confident they will represent Armenia  exceptionally well on the global stage." 

The National Finals took place at AUA on May 25, 2024. The event  commenced with special video remarks by GEN (Global Entrepreneurship  Network)  President Jonathan Ortmans, followed by remarks by Dr.  Ruben Simonyan, RA Deputy Minister of High-Tech Industry. Dr. Michael  Kouchakdjian, Director of EPIC, delivered the National Organizer's  remarks, emphasizing the significance of entrepreneurship in driving  innovation and economic growth in Armenia. We were thrilled to have  Narek Ghazaryan, the CCO of AUA, as our Master of Ceremonies, who  expertly guided us through the exciting pitches and networking  sessions. The event then proceeded with pitches from five idea-stage  startups, followed by a short networking session, and finally pitches  from five early-stage startups.  

Serving on the National Finals jury were Ruben Simonyan, Deputy  Minister of High-Tech Industry; Kar n Gulbudaghyan, Executive Board  Member of the National Council for Science and Technology Development  and Ambassador & Key Advisor at UC Berkeley, SkyDeck; Grigor  Hovhannisyan, Partner at Formula VC, President at BANA Angels;  Beniamin Gyurjyan, Director of EPAM Yerevan; and Aram Pakhchanian,  Chairman of the Board at Ayb Foundation.  

The announcement of the three prizes by FAST Foundation and STAN  (Science and Technology Angels Network) was made, followed by the  invitation of their representatives to hand over the prizes.  Subsequently, there was an announcement for the two prizes by Rooqet  & InnWork, with their representative Suren Matevosyan invited to  present the prizes. Lastly, Hayk Yesayan, the Co-founder and General  Director of Team Telecom Armenia, was invited to present special  awards to the winning startups.  

The national stage of the competition has been held for the third  year in a row with the support of Team Telecom Armenia. The company's  CEO, Hayk Yesayan, as a technology partner, presented awards to the  members of the three winning teams and emphasized the role of  startups, stating, "This competition is a great opportunity for  Armenian startups not only to present themselves on international  platforms but also to attract large investments for the development  of their businesses. I am glad that our company supports this  important initiative. Startups can become a driving force for the  economic development of our country, and we should encourage and  support them in every possible way. I congratulate and wish success  to the winning teams on the global stage." 

The first team announced to advance to the global stage was Archestr,  the only early-stage startup among the winners.  Archestr is a SaaS  platform that streamlines the design-to-construction process,  enhancing workflows for building designers, general contractors, and  suppliers. They already have a paying user base and customers   worldwide.  

Next was MAquaponics. They design and install systems that convert  animal manure into organic fertilizer. The nutrient- rich fertilizers  are suitable for hydroponic setups, drip irrigation, and traditional   agriculture.  

Their co-founder and Ponic Systems Engineer, Melineh Bilbul, who  delivered the pitch mentions that this win reaffirms the significance  of their work for Armenia's future and the broader field of green  agriculture. "It motivates us to continue progressing and take our  efforts to the next level in the competition, helping us to elevate   our startup to greater heights." 

Finally, the third winner was Nomiq, a web-based low-code platform  for backend development. This startup revolutionizes cost  optimization and accelerates time-to-market for complex solutions by  automating code generation and enabling rapid idea-to-application  conversion. Nomiq allows businesses to focus on defining their  processes, with the platform handling technical details, powered by  AI and the team's extensive expertise in developing large-scale   solutions.  

"This was our startup's first public pitch, and winning this  competition has given us extra drive and determination to move  forward and succeed. It has also brought a sense of added  responsibility to live up to the expectations and trust placed in  us!" says Tatev Avagyan, co-founder and CEO of Nomiq.  

EWC received a competitive pool of around 60 applications for this  year's competition. From these, GEN's international jury committee  had the challenging task of selecting 10 startups to advance to the   National Finals.  

This is the third year of organizing EWC competitions in Armenia.  Thanks to the exceptional organization and high level of  participation, GEN has granted Armenia an additional spot for  representing startups on the global stage. This year, three startups  will advance compared to two in previous years.  

The journey for the EWC Armenia 2024 national winners continues with  preparations for the global stage. The EWC Global Finals, slated for  early December 2024 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, mark the culmination of  a year-long quest to identify some of the world's most promising  startups. This multi-day event features a series of pitches and  offers unparalleled opportunities to engage with investors from  across the globe. The timeline for the EWC journey includes the  selection of the EWC 250 on September 1. The EWC Virtual Bootcamp  will take place from late September to early October (final dates to  be confirmed), with the selection of the EWC 100 set for October  15th. The EWC Top 100 represents the most promising startups from  around the world, chosen to advance further in the competition and  compete for the top prizes at the Global Finals.